Chin Un-suk named new SPO artistic adviser

Longtime Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra composer-in-residence Chin Un-suk, 55, has been named the orchestra’s new artistic adviser, replacing current interim artistic director Michael Fine, a Grammy-awarding classical recording producer.Chin, a famed local classical music composer based in Berlin, will officially begin her role as new artistic adviser starting Oct. 1. “Back in February I took a business trip to Berlin and met up with Chin Un-suk and practically begged her to take up the position,”

Sept. 28, 2016

Adele cracks 10 million US sales again

NEW YORK (AFP) – Adele’s “25” has topped 10 million sales in the United States, her second album to cross the threshold as the English singer cements her status as the century’s top-selling artist.The US industry body presented Adele a plaque certifying that “25,” released in November, had gone diamond platinum, or sold 10 million, at a ceremony backstage at New York’s Madison Square Garden where she just played six sold-out shows, her publicist announced Tuesday.The Recording Industry Associati

Sept. 28, 2016

‘Tristan’ makes Rattle want to ‘curl up in a fetal position’

NEW YORK (AP) -- Simon Rattle thought back to his first staged performance of Wagner’s “Tristan und Isolde” in Amsterdam in 2001.“I remember wanting to lie down on the rostrum and curl up in a fetal position and sob,” he said. “While every bone of my body was asking me to do that, the rest of me was saying, no, actually you have to be professional and keep on conducting.”Wagner’s hypnotic love story, composed from 1857-59 and premiered in 1865, returned to the Metropolitan Opera on Monday night

Sept. 28, 2016

Sounds of strings to usher in the fall months

Classical music fans may be seen flocking to the Seoul Arts Center in the upcoming autumn months of October and November to witness some of the finest one-night-only performances from three world-class musicians. 　Anne-Sophie Mutter has been internationally regaled as being one of the greatest violin virtuosos of modern times for the past four decades. The four-time Grammy Award winner gives concerts in all the world’s important music centers, her fame much accredited to her early career under t

Sept. 27, 2016

Return of the boy bands

Boy bands are churning out new releases in time for fall. Returning with a new look just this week was the band GOT7, with the group’s first studio album in two years, “Flight Log: Turbulence,” released Tuesday. The music video for the album’s title track “Hard Carry” was also unveiled on the same day. SHINee also announced new releases Tuesday. The five-member act will roll out its fifth full-length album “1 of 1” on Oct. 5 at midnight, according to the group’s management agency S.M. Entertainm

Sept. 27, 2016

Bums and cash set tongues wagging at UK's Turner Prize

LONDON (AFP) -- A giant backside, a mountain of money and chastity belts suspended from a ceiling: the Turner Prize once again looks set to divide the contemporary art world after unveiling its finalists in London on Monday.The four shortlisted artists have each taken over a room at Tate Britain, filling the famous gallery with all manner of materials, shapes and surprises for an exhibition that organizers hope will promote debate about art when it opens to the public Tuesday.The prize is awarde

Sept. 27, 2016

Singer Lee Seung-chul celebrates 30 years

When singer Lee Seung-chul made his debut with the legendary Korean rock band Boohwal in 1986, he and his group released an LP record.　“Now this is the era of MP3,” Lee said at a press conference celebrating his 30th debut anniversary in Hannam-dong, Seoul, Monday. “It is an honor still to be a part of the culture that produced the globally-recognized K-pop.”　Now entering his third decade as a singer, Lee says he is just now beginning to realize the greater significance of music. 　“Until now, I

Sept. 26, 2016

Dangerously skinny K-pop girl groups

Member of a Seoul-based college dance group Lee Hyo-min (not her real name) says she has no fancy tricks up her sleeve when it comes to dieting. She simply “starves” herself, said the 22-year-old.　“I drink water and iced Americano,” the aspiring dancer told The Korea Herald. “If I get really hungry, I have one bite of pizza or something that the group has ordered.”According to Lee, “just not eating” is the most effective way to lose weight, easier than counting calories or calculating the nutrit

Sept. 26, 2016

SF9 gears up for debut

Entertainment agency FNC Entertainment is getting ready to lift the veil on its first boy dance group, Sensational First 9, or SF9, next month.　SF9 will release its debut single “Feeling Sensation” and its music video on local music and video platforms on Oct. 5, according to FNC Entertainment on Monday. 　The nine-member act is also scheduled to hold a showcase at the Yes24 Live Hall in Gwangjang-dong, Seoul on the same day at 8 p.m. 　 The boy band was formed through Mnet’s survival reality show

Sept. 26, 2016

Apink tops music charts

K-pop girl group Apink has returned with full force.　Following the release of their third full-length album “Pink Revolution” on Monday morning, the album’s lead track “Only One” topped seven local music charts -- Naver Music, Olleh Music, Mnet, Genie, Bugs, Monkey3 and Soribada -- in less than 12 hours, according to the group’s management agency PlanA Entertainment on Monday. Produced in collaboration with a leading producer and songwriting team Black-eyed Pilseung, “Only One” is the group’s fi

Sept. 26, 2016

MOBB tops global music charts

Hip-hop duo MOBB -- consisting of boy band Winner’s Mino and iKON’s Bobby -- is on the rise.　“Hit Me,” one of the two lead tracks off MOBB’s debut mini album “The MOBB,” topped the weekly K-pop chart on one of China’s largest music streaming platforms, QQ Music, according to YG Entertainment on Sunday. Mino’s latest solo release “Body” followed at second place, along with the duo’s remaining lead track “Full House” at No. 8, and Bobby’s solo song “Holup!” at No. 10.  Additionally, the album is c

Sept. 25, 2016

Singer Jung Joon-young probed for sexual offense

Singer-songwriter and TV personality Jung Joon-young is being investigated over an alleged sexual offense.Jung’s ex-girlfriend, who has remained anonymous, filed for charges against the 27-year-old on Aug. 6 for secretly filming her during the couple’s sexual activities earlier this year, according to prosecutors on Saturday. However, the unidentified woman dropped her accusation a few days later. “I sincerely apologize for causing inconvenience to my colleagues and co-workers,” said Jung at a p

Sept. 25, 2016

Moby launches new album with environmental manifesto

NEW YORK (AFP) -- Moby, the electronic artist known for his dark musical undertones and staunch advocacy of animal rights, has announced a new album in the form of an environmental manifesto.Entitled “These Systems Are Failing,” the album to be released on Oct. 14 will be the debut of his new act called Moby and the Void Pacific Choir.Moby released an initial two tracks, which have echoes of the techno sound that made him famous in the 1990s but carry a forceful wall of guitar and bleak minor-ke

Sept. 25, 2016

Florence museum head defends party rental in Pitti Palace

ROME (AP) -- A wild bachelor’s party at the Pitti Palace art museum in Florence?Nothing of the kind, says museum director Eike Schmidt, who is defending the Renaissance palazzo’s courtyard’s rental, saying it was for a pre-nuptial dinner paid for by an Italian company president who was getting married Saturday in a Florence church. Schmidt, who also directs the Uffizi Galleries, insisted in statement Saturday there was “nothing vulgar or excessive” about decorations in the courtyard for the part

Sept. 25, 2016